ANALYSIS: Both sides winners in Venezuelan election

By Helmut Reuter Sep 27, 2010, 22:11 GMT

Caracas - It would appear that both sides won Sunday's Venezuelan legislative election: the party of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez got the most seats, the opposition got the most votes.

'(The opposition) say they won. Well, let them keep 'winning' like that!' Chavez said on his Twitter site Monday.

Every election in Venezuela is actually about the left-wing populist Chavez, who has been in power since 1999 and is seeking re-election in 2012.

His United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) celebrated the win: after all, they got 95 of the 165 parliamentary seats to the opposition's 64, with four seats still undecided according to the latest data.

The opposition, in turn, was glad to have deprived Chavez of the two-thirds majority he needed to be able to press on further substantive legislative changes in Venezuela without seeking any form of consensus.

And according to Venezuelan media, the country's democracy won too. With a turnout of 66.5 per cent and only minor incidents on election day, there were no immediate calls for revotes or fraud allegations. Not bad for a deeply divided country.

During the campaign, the always outspoken, always controversial Chavez had called the opposition 'lackeys' of imperial forces, a 'fifth column.' He had said he wanted a KO win. And in the end he attained a significant win, albeit one that was less resounding than he had hoped.

The opposition learned from its mistakes of the past. In 2005, they boycotted the National Assembly election, claiming they mistrusted the new electronic voting system. Their absence allowed the leftist populist president and his supporters complete control of the legislature, and deprived government critics of a key platform to voice their views since then.

This time around, more than 10 parties were part of the coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democratica, the Table for Democratic Union, and the opposition appeared more focussed than ever, fielding consensus candidates.

The opposition did not seek direct confrontation with Chavez as tin the past, but focused instead on issues. The high crime rate, the rampant inflation and the scandal over rotting foodstuffs were some of the issues. And many Venezuelans expressed their disappointment at the polls.

There has been no shortage of elections in Venezuela since Chavez got to power. Voters have been called upon to make decisions at the polls more than 10 times, with frequent referendums.

But everything is about Chavez. This time around, as usual, he put the election in terms of 'all or nothing.' The future of the homeland and that of his revolution were at stake, he stressed.

He was greatly involved in the campaign. He travelled the country to support his candidates, and television showed him time and again surrounded by a sea of red-shirted comrades.

That is where he thrives. He addressed crowds, greeted people, laughed a lot and attacked the opposition. He remains very popular among many Venezuelans, even if the number is probably shrinking and if many other Venezuelans dislike him with a passion.

Chavez used the campaign to warm up for the 2012 presidential election, and he is not yet done with his 21st century socialism.

However, the result of Sunday's election is bound to make it significantly harder for Chavez to govern, and the opposition feels strong. Opposition spokesman Ramon Guillermo Aveledo sees 'a chance to offer an alternative to the country.'

In only two years' time Venezuelans will again have the opportunity to decide between Chavez and something else.